OHCHR’s representative in Bolivia, Denis Racicot, writes as a guest blogger.
For more information visit http://bolivia.ohchr.org.
In 1966, by means of the signing of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination and the subsequent ratification en 1970, the State of Bolivia committed to adopt all the necessary measures for the elimination for racial discrimination in all its forms and manifestations, to prevent and combat doctrines and racial practices and to guarantee the right of all people of equality before the law without distinction. Likewise, it committed to adopt educative and cultural measures in order to combat the prejudice that drives discrimination and to declare punishable by law all diffusion of ideas based on superiority or racial hatred, all incitement of racial discrimination, and declaring illegal the organisations and activities that promote this conduct.
In 1975, the Committee for the Elimination for Racial Discrimination (CERD) of the United Nations, that monitors the implementation of the convention, amongst other recommendations, asked the State of Bolivia to approve laws criminalising all forms of racial discrimination described in the 4th article of the above mentioned convention and this recommendation has been systematically re-iterated in 1976, 1978, 1984, 1996 and 2003.
Relevant data on the first quarter reports presented by the State of Bolivia to CERD in the 70’s excused the country for not passing regulations that prohibit the activities described in the 4th article of the convention with the argument that “racial problems do not exist, nor have they ever existed, in Bolivia”.
On the other hand, in 2001 the State of Bolivia by means of the signing of the Declaration at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and all forms of intolerance, has committed to adopt and apply measures and policies in the fight against racism and discrimination, and to promote equitable social development and the realization of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights for all victims of racial discrimination. This commitment was ratified by the State in the Durban Conference in Geneva in 2009.
In this context, the Law Against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination approved on 8 of October 2010 by the President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and the process of developing a public policy against Racism and Discrimination initiated by the Vice-Minister of Decolonisation, represented a significant and historical advance for the problem of racism and discrimination in all its forms in Bolivia. Furthermore, it is a long awaited response by the State to the International Community and the United Nations.
The current initiatives of the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia against racism and discrimination, born out of the recommendation of CERD and the contractual obligations of the Bolivian State from more than 40 years ago respond to the State’s objective to represent a more just and harmonious society, prohibiting and sanctioning all forms of discrimination as indicated in the Political State Constitution in articles 9 and 14.
Both instruments, the Law and the policy against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination approved by the Bolivian Government saw this issue from an integral perspective and as a phenomena which should be confronted across the spectrum of political, legislative, educative, social, and cultural measures as well as in the field of health.
In respect of article 16 of the Law against Racism and all forms of Discrimination, which constitutes only part of the law against racism, it is important that “racial discussion, the discussion of hate and the incitement to racial violence are unacceptable in a democratic society. In consequence, they cannot be protected by freedom of expression”. However, the prohibition of dissemination of racist ideas, if not adequately regulated, can affect the right to freedom of expression.
In this sense, it is advisable that the regulation of article 16 of the above mentioned Law against Racism and all forms of Discrimination, takes into account the suggestions by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Special Rapporteur of the OEA on Freedom of Expression and the Representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on Freedom of Expression. All measure of civil, penal or administrative rights that constitute an interference in the freedom of expression should be ratified in law, these measures should be clear and precisely defined, and they should be applied by an organisation free of bias.
To conclude, it is important that one takes into account in the current debate the statement made this year by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navanethem Pillay, who affirmed that “discrimination is the principle cause of much of the more pressing problems of Human Rights . No country is immune to this problem. The elimination of discrimination is a right of the highest order”.